Research staff member application

With its 15 museum collections, four scientific institutes and the General Directorate, the National Museums in Berlin are one of two major institutions of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and are among the largest universal museums in the world.

The Ethnologisches Museum and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin are with over one million objects among the largest and most important specialized museums devoted to non-European cultures worldwide. They preserve internationally important collections of tangible and intangible art and cultural artifacts from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. The Ethnologisches Museum and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst are under a joint directorship. Both collections have their own specialist heads. The museums are presenting exhibitions in the Humboldt Forum. The displays there are focused on the dialogue between the cultures of the world and current topics of global relevance from a range of perspectives.

We are announcing a curator-position with specializations in Korean art history and cultural studies who will be responsible for the Korean collections of art and culture in the Museum für Asiatische Kunst and the Ethnologisches Museum.

The work of the future curator should contribute to exploiting the full potential of the Korea-related collections of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and to allow them to become more visible nationally and internationally. In order to ensure polyphony and participation of as many interested parties as possible, special attention should also be paid to local resources, especially to artists with roots in or a connection to Korean culture. Through exhibitions and events, the significance and diversity of Korean art and culture shall be conveyed to a broad audience. Corresponding cooperation and networks shall as well be strengthened and made accessible for far-reaching participation.

Field of responsibility:

• curatorial supervision of the collections from Korea with a focus on documenting their contexts in art and culture out of a specialized Korean perspective.
• scholarly cataloguing of the museum’s holdings, including in-depth studies of individual works; research into the materiality and the histories, societies, cultures and artistic craftsmanship of the collection’s objects; provenance research, publication and documentation of newly gained knowledge also in the digital museum documentation system
• concepts for an extension of the Korean collection with the aim to meet the contemporary needs of a proper museum display representing Korean culture
• establishing, maintaining and expanding cooperations and networks with associations and institutions by developing projects with a focus on Korea
• Maintaining close cooperation with the Berlin Universities and scientific collaboration with the future Research Campus Dahlem
• supervision of the exhibitions regarding Korea: Developing and realizing of publicly effective presentations of holdings, special exhibitions and events on the artistic and cultural entanglement structures of East Asia with a strong focus on Korea: At least once a year, an exhibition and a conference (including workshops, seminars etc.) are held.
• production of accompanying publications on the collections, selection of objects for loans and initiation of loan requests
• developing strategies and formats for educational programs in the framework of the presented exhibitions in close collaboration with the educational staff of the National Museums in Berlin and the Academy of the Humboldt Forum
• processing inquiries from the public and from research experts

Requirements:

• university degree (Master, Magister, Diplom (university) or comparable) in Art History or Culture or comparable discipline with specialization in Korean Art History; proficiency in East Asian Art and Culture with an appropriate regional specialization in Korean Culture
• methodological competence for the independent development and evaluation of topics in their broader scientific context
• scholarly experience with provenance research and research into the arts, materiality, history, archaeology, societies, and cultures of Korea
• good national and international networks in the relevant fields
• Demonstrated experience developing, implementing exhibitions with high public impact and coordinating inter-institutional and interdisciplinary exhibitions and conferences
• professional experience in museums and affinity for communicating works of art
• experience in working with museum databases
• good language skills in Korean and English, both written and spoken; language skills in German or willingness to learn German are essential (German is the official language)

Preferences:

• Ph.D in a relevant subject with a corresponding regional focus on Korea

The Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz welcomes applications from people of all nationalities. As an interdisciplinary cultural and research institution, the SPK offers family-friendly working conditions and guarantees equality between women and men in accordance with the Federal Equality Act. Severely disabled persons are given special consideration, if they are equally qualified.

It is generally possible to fill positions with part-time employees.

German civil servants are requested to submit a current (not older than twelve months) official assessment.

Please send your application documents via E-Mail (singular pdf document up to 7 MB) quoting the code number of the position SMB-EM/AKu-3-2022 before 14. June 2022 to:

Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Personalabteilung, Sachgebiet I 1.1m,
Von-der-Heydt-Str. 16-18, 10785 Berlin – E-Mail: bewerbungsmanagement@hv.spk-berlin.de

Applications in hard copy can only be returned if a stamped envelope is enclosed.

Your data will be saved and edited during the assessment process. For further information look here: https://www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/karriere/datenschutz.html.

Contact person for questions concerning the scope of duties:
Prof. Dr. Koch (Tel.: 030 -8301-352)

Contact person for questions concerning the application procedure:
Dr. Lang (Tel.: 030 - 266 41 1600)